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Congress gave final approval to a $1.1-trillion spending bill to keep the government from shutting down, but not without a last-minute hitch when Republican Sen. Ted Cruz forced a rare Saturday session, defying party leaders’ efforts for smooth passage. The political gamesmanship not only put senators in a foul mood as they canceled weekend plans and braced for a round-the-clock session, but also shifted attention back onto Republican Party divisions that leaders have tried to temper as the GOP prepares to take full control of Congress in the new year. Few expected the sudden turn of events, even though the Texas Republican had vowed to use the spending bill as leverage to stop...

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Congress gave final approval to a $1.1-trillion spending bill to keep the government from shutting down, but not without a last-minute hitch when Republican Sen. Ted Cruz forced a rare Saturday session, defying party leaders’ efforts for smooth...

Overruling the objections of gun-rights advocates, the U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Dr. Vivek Murthy, a British-born, American-educated internal medicine specialist, to become the 19th surgeon general of the United States.
The 51-43 vote makes Murthy,...

WASHINGTON — The fragile diplomatic accord to resolve the Ukraine crisis frayed Sunday as an armed clash erupted in eastern Ukraine and top Russian and Ukrainian officials, appearing on television talk shows, each demanded the other side lay down its...

Temporarily setting aside the usual partisan sniping, lawmakers in Congress turned their sights Friday on Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling on Moscow to end the separatist conflict in the aftermath of the Malaysian jetliner disaster.
Rep. Ed...

As Congress works to approve a short-term infusion of cash to prevent a halt in highway and road construction projects this summer, a pair of senators called Wednesday for raising national fuel taxes by 12 cents a gallon over the next two years as part of...

In 1993, Bill Clinton was president, "Seinfeld" was on TV and a cellphone was the size of a brick. It was also the last time Congress raised the federal gasoline tax, which pays for roads, bridges and public transit. Over two decades, the cost...

Lawmakers' votes this week on whether or not to train and equip Syrian opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State were arguably the most consequential after nearly two years in which Congress is likely to set a new low for productivity.But...

Congress, once reluctant to take a stand on fighting Islamic militants overseas, now appears eager to do so, as Republicans in the House largely backed President Obama's proposal to arm Syrian rebels.
A vote could come as soon as next week, and House...

Walking slowly, with the aid of a retractable cane, Philomena Lee, the 80-year-old Irishwoman who inspired the Oscar-nominated drama "Philomena," appeared under the towering marble rotunda of Los Angeles' City Hall this month to receive the...

Every member of the Senate with a glimmer of ambition to run for president — and that's most of them — knows that a vote for war can make or break a political career. The example of Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose vote to authorize the 2003 invasion of Iraq...

WASHINGTON –- A divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted narrowly Wednesday to authorize a punitive U.S. strike against Syria, opening the way for a vote in the full Senate next week.
The vote was 10 to 7, with Democrats and Republicans on each...

WASHINGTON –- The planned military strikes on Syria would be “targeted, limited” and wouldn’t seek to topple the government of President Bashar Assad or even force it to peace talks.
They would also be punishing and “consequential” and would so scare...

WASHINGTON – A leading advocate of stricter gun safety laws argued earlier this month that momentum had not stalled in Congress and cited one “inevitable fact” as proof.
“There will be another mass shooting. And when it happens, members of Congress...

WASHINGTON — This month, a leading advocate of stricter gun safety laws argued that momentum had not stalled in Congress and cited an "inevitable fact" as proof.
"There will be another mass shooting. And when it happens, members of...

WASHINGTON — After pushing through one of the most significant rule changes in Senate history, Majority Leader Harry Reid struck a solemn tone: "This is not a time for celebration."
But behind closed doors in a room off the Senate floor, some...

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Monday agreed to extend by another decade a ban on plastic guns that can evade traditional security screening, after an effort to include stronger limits was rejected.
The renewed Undetectable Firearms Act, which is due to...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted to confirm two more of President Obama’s stalled nominations in an unusual all-night session forced by Republican objections to the historic change to the chamber's filibuster rules.
In a vote after 1 a.m. EST Thursday,...

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. officials warned against further Russian military aggression into eastern Ukraine as Americans and Western allies prepared to slap more sanctions on Russian officials and to protect the new government in Kiev.
Sanctions could be...